Former Samford University President Thomas Corts dies

Thomas Corts made his mark on Samford University, no doubt about that.

As president of the Baptist-affiliated campus for 23 years, he shepherded it through good times and hard times with steady hands, clear eyes and courteous manners. During his tenure, the campus added 30 buildings, its endowment grew from $8 million to $290 million, and it didn't sink into the choppy waters of Baptist politics.

That would be achievement enough by almost anyone's standards. But Corts, who died Wednesday, leaves a legacy that extends far beyond Samford.

You see, Corts wasn't content just to help Samford succeed. He wanted Alabama, his adopted home, to succeed, too. "He turned Samford outward into the world of public affairs and social ethics," said Wayne Flynt, a renowned history professor from Auburn University who served on Samford's board and was Corts' friend.

Hence, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama -- a respected source of unbiased information on government, education and taxes -- was brought to life at Samford under the leadership of former Gov. Albert Brewer, whom Corts recruited for the job.

Hence, Corts became the leader of Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, traveling the state to point out how our current constitution saddles the poor with burdensome taxes, concentrates power in Montgomery and condemns the state to dysfunctional governance.

And hence, after Corts had safely entered what should have been his comfortable retirement years, he accepted the call to take the helm of Alabama's bruised and battered two-year college system.

Corts' time as the two-year college system's chancellor was brief and frustrating. He inherited a system that had been wracked by massive corruption. His attempts to fix the damage and restore integrity were often met with unyielding bureaucratic roadblocks. He ultimately left after getting crossed up with members of the state school board. But during his time there, he did set the right wheels in motion.

What speaks to Corts' character, though, isn't whether he accomplished in that job everything he had hoped. He didn't. It's that he wasn't content to watch the disaster unfold from afar. He went to work to make a difference.

Corts' strong sense of duty and service didn't end with the chancellor's job, either. He went to work in the Bush administration first as coordinator of the President's Initiative to Expand Education and later as coordinator of basic education in a State Department foreign assistance program. He just returned home to Alabama in January.

His sudden death from an apparent heart attack this week was a terrible shock. Alabama's loss is tremendous. The good news is that Corts' many contributions to Alabama didn't die with him -- they will live on and on.